#lenore romney

[metacalf]

"this great country gave him opportunities" 

[theabsoluteword]

"Oh my God. George Romney was on welfare. So according to Mitt Romney's own logic, Mitt Romney could not win the vote of his dad." - Jon Stewart

[labohrertorium-blog]

I was interested to see that Ann Romney will appear on tomorrow's Meet the Press -- "the first time in history that a spouse has joined a presidential candidate on the show," according to Politico.

If that's true, it wasn't for lack of trying. In fact, if Meet the Press had gotten its way in 1968, they would have had a joint interview with Mitt's parents: presidential candidate George Romney and his wife Lenore.

In the summer of 1967, Lawrence E. Spivak, the legendary moderator and co-founder of Meet the Press, was already hard at work to get Lenore to appear on his show, as he noted in a memo-to-file now archived in his papers at the Library of Congress. "I also talked with Chuck [Harmon, a Romney press aide] about my invitation to Mrs. Romney and told him that I couldn't at this point pick a date but just wanted them to know of our strong interest in doing such a program at the right time."

Spivak also warned the Romney team that the questions might be out of the ordinary for a 1960s political spouse. "I let him know, as I had let her know, that we would have to go into politics with her, that the program could not be one in which we asked just personal things. He said she understood that and seemed willing to do the program."

George Romney appeared on the Meet the Press alone that October, a month before he officially announced his presidential candidacy. At the end of January 1968, a Romney press aide approached Spivak about doing another interview the weekend before the New Hampshire primary, possibly back-to-back with a Richard Nixon interview. As Spivak recalled in a memo-to-file:

I discussed with him the suggestion of a joint interview with Mrs. Romney but he was pretty clearly against it and I gathered he was becoming sensitive about the situation; so many people were saying that if only he were as articulate as she.

We discussed the question of an interview the week after the New Hampshire primary or closer to the Wisconsin primary date. I gathered they would be agreeable to almost anything we wanted to do.

Spivak was correct: Romney's campaign was desperate, and had been from the start. Romney had visited with Spivak two days after he announced his candidacy in November 1967 -- what should have been a hopeful time. Yet when Spivak told Romney he looked forward to having him on the show they were doing before the Republican National Convention, Romney replied, "Your invitation is the most encouraging thing I have heard thus far.”

George Romney ultimately ended his bid for the presidency after a hundred days -- two weeks ahead of the New Hampshire primary, and before a joint interview with his wife Lenore could occur.

(Hey New Yorkers interested in George Romney: I'm giving a lecture at the New York Public Library on Thursday, September 13 at 1:15 p.m.)

[sarahlee310-blog]

At the Republican convention last week was a touching piece on Mitt Romney’s father, George. Born in Mexico, George fled to the United States at the age of 5, arriving here with absolutely nothing, little George worked his way up until he eventually became a cabinet member under Richard Nixon. A heartfelt and touching story.

And it left out a very big piece, one which destroys the entire foundation upon which he had built his very nomination.

You see, George Romney arrived in El Paso, Texas, as part of 4,000 other refugees fleeing the Mexican Revolution. Once they arrived, the United States did not just wave them by, to let them fend for themselves. Instead, it opened up its arms, welcoming them not only into the United States, but granted to them $250 each, equal to just under of $6,000 today. On top of that, the US provided food, clothing, and supplies. George Romney grew up with his food, housing, and schooling taken care of by the US Government. And he had a large sum of money granted to him, which the family had used to buy stocks and bonds, which George then used to pay for his college, and getting started in life.

Where would one get such a shocker of a story? Why, from George’s wife, Lenore, in this 1962 interview.

(via Romney, Son Of Welfare Receiving Mexican Immigrant (VIDEO) | Addicting Info)

[apsies]

While running for Senate in 1994, Romney said during debate against Sen. Edward Kennedy that he believes "abortion should be safe and legal in this country. I have since the time that my mom took that position when she ran in 1970 as a US Senate candidate," Romney said. During his 2002 campaign for Massachusetts governor, Romney cited his mother again as the inspiration for supporting a women's right to chose, a stance no longer holds. "She had very strong personal beliefs about what decision she would make for herself and her family, but she also made it clear that a woman should have the right to chose," Romney said in a debate during his gubernatorial run. "I have held that view consistently." While Lenore Romney did not express full-fledged support for legalizing abortion, which was a felony offense during her 1970 Senate run, she pushed for "more liberal abortion rights" and ''greatly expanded programs of providing adequate family planning services. Mitt Romney is now firmly opposed to abortion.

Five Facts About Mitt Romney's Mom - ABC News

[reuters]

Finally, there is definitive proof: The presidential candidate was born in the United States, and his father was not.

Yes, Republican Mitt Romney appears eligible to be president, according to a copy of Romney's birth certificate released to Reuters by his campaign. Willard Mitt Romney, the certificate says, was born in Detroit on March 12, 1947.

His mother, Lenore, was born in Utah and his father, former Michigan governor and one-time Republican presidential candidate George Romney, was born in Mexico.

READ MORE: Romney's birth certificate evokes father's controversy